The riskiest part of fighting a wildland fire

Caitlin Chinn

(Is it ever scary?) Not really. There are MANY layers of risk management and planning that go into this, and the frameworks for that are old as the hills, ingrained into every firefighter. There are endless hierarchies of people who make decisions, and communication travels up and down that chain constantly. Our safety is more important than any tree, any acre, any structure, any private property, and always will be.

When bad things happen, they are thoroughly examined and studied and written about. For the most part, people don't just die doing this and it's not an acceptable outcome whatsoever.

The most dangerous thing we do is drive, just like everyone else.

Photo by Caitlin Chinn, '13